Become the Coach Your Clients Deserve: The Mindset and Habits of Elite Coaches with Jim Coyle

What separates a good coach from a truly transformational one?

In this episode, Cam sits down with veteran EOS Implementer Jim Coyle to explore the mindset, disciplines, and habits that define elite coaching. Drawing from more than 1,300 coaching sessions and over 15 years of experience, Jim shares why the best coaches never stop practicing what they preach, how intentional preparation transforms client outcomes, and why building meaningful relationships, not chasing marketing tactics, is the key to a thriving practice. They also discuss the importance of continual mastery, creating systems for your own business, and becoming the coach your clients truly deserve.  

Biography

Jim Coyle is the founder of Nexus Business Solutions and one of the earliest EOS Implementers, with more than 1,300 leadership team sessions to his name. After spending over a decade coaching and mentoring EOS Implementers, Jim launched Nexus to help coaches build, manage, and continuously improve their practices through proven systems, community, and ongoing mastery. He is passionate about helping coaches move beyond simply running sessions to creating truly transformational client experiences. 

Links

Connect with Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcoylenexus/ 

Learn more about Nexus Business Solutions: https://nexusbusiness.com/ 

Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam 

Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the index coating. The breakthrough moment of drive coating things. Let's jump into today's episode. Hello, friends. I am so excited to welcome Jim Coyle to the show. Jim is the founder of Nexus Business Solutions. He's also an expert EOS implementer with, I think you said 1,300 sessions. So an old pro, been in the game, I think 15 years, you said. And you were also part of the coaching team at EOS Worldwide for quite a while as well. So a business coach through and through, dare I say, uh an ambitious coach. Uh so man, welcome to the show, Jim. Excited to have you.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Uh I'm in I'm excited, Cam. I uh been looking forward to it since we talked first. So this would be great.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yes, I've been, I've been like anticipating this conversation. I think we're gonna go very deep, very fast. So, but why don't, as we kick it off, why don't you tell a little bit of people, a little bit of your entrepreneurial journey kind of into coaching?

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Yeah, yeah, I love it. Um so um uh it's funny. Um people always say, you know, you don't have to have to go back to like third grade, but I'm gonna go back to about ninth grade. Um so um I just have always loved, and I didn't realize it. Now I look back and I'm like, oh my God, I've always had this entrepreneurial bug. But when I was a kid, I uh worked at uh uh in high school, worked at like a bead shop. I started making like beaded stuff. And then literally I was the kid who like would open the locker and I had stuff in my locker that I would sell to people. Um and so the creepy dude that was shell uh selling the watches underneath his. Yeah, there you go, there you go. Um I got some wares. Um and um I uh um but I did that for um I started in high school, started to do that, and then I got to college and I started a paint contracting company. And um so it was like one of those college painters uh things. I don't know if you have them in your town, but they have the college painter approach. And um, so I owned one of those um companies or franchises, I guess, and um in college. And then um, and then during college, it was also my beaded stuff was great. Um, it was awesome. I'd go into like sorority houses and I'd set up like my wares and jewelry stores, started buying my stuff, which was really funny to be like I was a jewelry maker for a while, of course. Um, and so I just was always running my own thing, like there was always something I was doing. Um, you know, we would now call them kind of side hustles, but there was no term for them back in the 90s. And so um I uh I did that for a long time and then um ended up uh working for Anders Consulting and then bought a bar and restaurant in Chicago. And so that was one of my big kind of pushes. I bought the bar and restaurant and um had sold the uh uh painting company and I moved into the bar and restaurant Chicago or after Anderson, and uh that was fun. Definitely a lot of lessons learned. Um, I always tell people I've got a diploma without the paper. Um and uh yeah, right, exactly. Um and then uh my dad was sick at the time and I came home to Kalamazoo uh where I'm now based, and um I made two promises, Cam. I said, one, I'm not gonna start a business. I gotta work for somebody else. I'm just I'm done. Like I had sold the barn restaurant and I was not gonna work for somebody else. And I said, But if I break number one, I'm not gonna have any employees, just no employees. Like it'll just maybe be my own thing if I happen to break my first promise. Within three months, I owned a company and I had an employee. Um for two. Yeah, no, exactly. I'm like, oh my god, I'm not letting me go with my own promises to myself, for God's sakes. And so um, but that started Nexus Business Solutions. Um, and so Nexus Business Solutions was my business advisory company. I was 30 at the time, um, probably um seen as young with all the baby boomers who were owning the companies, but um it really started to work. It uh we had a really great model, and then I met Don Teeny, uh, who was uh Geno's partner at US Worldwide. And uh Don lives in my town, or uh I live in Don'st town, probably a better way of saying it. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, it's probably that way. Um, and so uh Don and I got talking and I said, this sounds great. And it was rather cheap at the time. Um they were looking for anybody. It was a self-published book. I was actually just looking at it. This is the book I got when I went to boot camp uh from Gino. Um and so yeah, I was looking at it, I was like, oh my god, I still have the self-published version. Yeah, and um the um uh but then we uh I got in with the OS4 Y and I told Gino, I said, I'm gonna take all your stuff and I'm gonna put it into my system. And he said, Great, that sounds awesome. Um, and I was like, huh. I've never met somebody who's got IP who was like, you know, wasn't trying to hide it. He's like, no, no, no, you learn it. If you end up not getting value from us, then great. I'm like, oh, I'm liking this guy. And so the more I got to uh dug into the system though, Cam, the more I saw its genius. And I didn't want to change anything. And so I'm like, ugh, you know, I had to like go with my ego. Somebody was smarter than I was and built a better mousetrap. And so I uh moved all my clients over to US. And um, and then like you said, you know, uh number of years in, I'm implementer 16 of all the implementers that are running around. And um I ended up becoming one of the coaches uh for 11 years. I actually just came off the coaching team after 11 years.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

So very cool. Yeah, man. That's I mean, yeah, implementer 16, because there's what? Um quite a few, I mean, 800, 900 nowadays. I mean I I just heard the word 900, so I think we're right around there. Yeah. That is crazy. What what was it like? I mean, having the perspective. I mean, you're uh you're one of the unique guests that I've had who's seen that. I mean, what was it like back in the you know, old days, if you will, dark ages, you know, whatever you want to call it, or versus how it is nowadays? I mean, what are the differences?

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Yeah, it was. I mean, the crazy thing is, is actually what's not different, um, with which I actually find really fascinating. And so I'm not gonna answer your question. Uh, I'll blow you off just for a minute. Right. Um, yeah, and then I'll be nice to my host. Absolutely. Um, but um, what's interesting is what's not different. I mean, to think to go over that period of time. So we're talking 15 years, and over 15 years, think of all the businesses that are like not even focused at all on what they used to do. And um, so little has changed in many regards. We we had QCEs, we still had boot camps. Now they've been polished, but very little has changed. This book actually, you know, it was self-published. There was literally like spelling errors and things in it, the grammar wasn't great, but there's no meat that changed from when Gino published it himself to when it got edited. No meat. And you know, they they polished it, but there's really nothing that's changed there.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Um the the now some of the things were definitely different. Is I'd go to boot camp and there'd be 30 of us in the room. Um, and I was just at the annual um uh QCE. I'm sorry, there were QCEs. There was 30 in the room. Boot camp, there was eight. Um, there was eight of us at boot camp, and there was 30 of us in the room for QCE. And uh what's crazy is that I just was at uh a QCE and I think there was 750 of us in a room. Oh, that's a difference, and it definitely feels different. Um, and I'm an extrovert, so I'm fine, but all our introverts are like, yeah, like it's a lot, yeah, it's too much. Um yeah, I I love it though. I'm like, uh, you know, people talk about like Mardi Gras, like, oh, and I'm like, oh it's great, I love it. People just just get into it. So yeah, yeah. Yeah, for me, it's my my scene, but um, but it it was but what's amazing is that uh QCE is at its core or are very true uh still to what we focused on. Boot camps to its core are really the same thing. So it's pretty amazing. Um, don't tell Gino because I don't want him to get a big head, but it's pretty phenomenal that um it's endured, and it endured before my 15 years, it'd been around five before that. Um, and um so for a good 20 years, I mean, it's really the foundation of it hasn't changed.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Man, that's it's it's uh thank you for saying all that because there's so much context that you have, and so many of the individuals that talk about the value of EOS, other implementers that I've talked to all reference the community of how special it is. And so hearing that from someone who's been in it for a while is is cool, you know. And it is, I think it is something that, you know, you do find that timeless truth or whatever, and it does stick around. And so that is uh a testament to just how valuable the framework is. But so one of the things, and I this is where I want to kind of dive into just your context, your experience. I mean, you've got 1300 sessions under your belt, right? So that, you know, as we work backwards, there's a lot of competencies that you have to kind of master as a business coach, right? I mean, you have to get clear on your vision of why you're doing what you're doing. And it sounds like you got that really early on. I mean, even into your 30s, you had that. And so, um, and then building an offering. And then once you have that offering, you know, you kind of had the framework put down, business development seems to be a big thing. What in your experience? You can take this from your own coaching practice or as a coach, however you want to take it, but what do the coaches who consistently grow their practices like you, what do they understand about business development that maybe some of the other ones that struggle miss?

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Yeah, and let me um let me say one thing straight. I struggled. So um, I don't want uh people to come off thinking I didn't, and that's actually why I became a coach. Um, and so I'm gonna answer your question, but the the it I became a coach because I got a call from the head coach at the time. His name was Ed Callahan, and Ed calls me up and he says to me, Jim, you've screwed up just about everything. And so, yeah, no, exactly. Like, thank you. He's from Philly too. He just catched us straight. Um, and I'm sure there was some cuss words you threw in there too. But he then said, You've messed it all up. And somehow you're still here. Like, it's amazing that you're successful and you really have learned and grown. And he goes, like, I now listen to a lot of the stuff you're talking about. And before, I didn't even think you were gonna make it. And he's like, It's pretty amazing that what you've done. And he said, and I think that's what a great coach is somebody who struggled. And I learned this saying right after that that the um, and for some reason it happens to be about the German language, I have no idea why. But if you'd want to learn German, you learn it from somebody who's actually learned German or has struggled to learn German, meaning it's their second language. Learning German from a uh a German-speaking person seems to make sense, but it's not because it just comes naturally. And so the people who things come natural to them usually aren't the best teachers. Um, and a lot of times they're not great coaches because they lack the patience because they never actually had to struggle. And so the people who need coaching are usually the people who are struggling. And so we have to have patience, which is not always my virtue, but what I've I found is because I was in those shoes, um I I had to kind of push through. And so the I had I did 13, my first 13 90-minute meetings, Cam. We're supposed to do four to one. So if you do a 90-minute meeting, you're supposed to get half of them as focus days. My first 13 90s, I had zero focus days. Um, and I supposedly have the record, they don't put that on the ceiling or the wall uh uh for me, thank God. Um there's no banner that says but um I tell you that because what I learned, I learned the hard way. And so now to answer your question, um I realized that I had to work a lot harder than I wanted to, and that business development didn't come naturally to me. What did come naturally to me was making business friends. I was really good at making business friends. I'm just I I that comes naturally to me. I don't mean get it egotistically, it's more just like it's just it's something I'm good at. Um I'm I'm not great at um what I would call glad handling, um where I gotta go somewhere and you know, uh put it on when I don't know them. And so I'm not really good at that. Networking doesn't come naturally to me. Um but um but what I found was I was really great at them making friends once I had that. And so um what I learned was I just made a lot of business friends because that came naturally to me. And so my advice for other coaches is you're gonna get a whole bunch of people telling you what to do and how to do it. And it's funny because you're literally asking me to do that now that I think about it, which is really funny. Um, but what I'm gonna tell you is find what you love to do that then gets you business. And for me, it was making business friends. And so that was my scorecard. Did I make any new business friends? And every week I had to make new business friends, and um, we would call them connectors. Um, and so I was making business friends with people who then at some point could connect me to their clients or their friends or somebody. Um and um my best business friends were the ones who then referred to me, obviously, and then I'd spend more time with them. And so connectors is how I built my practice. Um, but I just did it one friend at a time. And then when I started to get business, what I realized is that those people ultimately ended up enjoying me as a person as well, and the work we were doing. And so after every session, I needed to ask, and this is how I would ask because I would make it more about them. I said, you know, if it um is there anybody you really care about that you would want them to have this? And we just finished a session, so they know exactly what this is. This is them having EOS, them having this EOS life. You know, is there anybody you care enough about? And the reason I'm asking it that way is I want them ultimately to it want it to be about them. I literally have people thank me for giving me um clients. Oh my god, you've been so great to my wife's company. Like you wouldn't believe how much better things are at home just because of the work that you're doing with my wife. So thank you. And I'm like, they do pay me. Um but but thank you, yeah, of course. Yeah, it's my pleasure. Um, you know, it feels weird. Um, but um, so those were the two big things, Cam, that I did was I made business friends um that were good connectors, and then I um really made sure I was doing bang up work for my clients and then asked every time um which um, you know, like who they really knew and cared about that they want them to have it.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Yeah. That was my big things. That's really good. The there's two things that kind of stuck out to me. Number one, the intentionality behind kind of like asking for, all right, hey, you know, who else do you know? Like, and like actually thinking about that. And then the other thing that you said that I want to make sure other coaches that are listening pick up on. And you kind of just barely alluded to this, so we can dive deep into it. But you you had mentioned you actually had a scorecard where you were keeping track of those things and like, hey, going in. And I think that is one thing as I have talked to. We actually just this last week released the 30th episode. So I've had 30 of these conversations, which is pretty cool. Uh apparently that like puts you in uh top tier. We made it past 10 episodes or whatever. So uh it's just the bar is low in podcasting. Um, but the anyways, one of the things that I've noticed is the best of the best actually practice what they preach. When they go out and they're having their clients kind of go in and have somewhat of a scorecard and you know, build out a vision. And I think that is what I see, and I hear that in you as you're saying that. You know, you are actually keeping track of that because I think that's where a lot of coaches can set out and they think they're gonna be able to go in and all right, hey, these are great, ambitious things that I'm gonna go after, but what gets measured gets managed, right? I mean, that's the needle, you know, like I mean, that's just how it goes. And so I'm curious how you still manage your practice today. Is that something where you still, I mean, do you have a like a level 10 or do you have some sort of scorecard? I mean, how does that work for you?

SPEAKER_02 16:13

It's funny, I have my BTO right here. Um I was like, I actually think I have a BTO here. So I can literally prove uh to your listeners that I am running on EOS. Yeah, I think there's so many times that people think that um it's great for our clients. It's built for our clients, it's built for 10 to 250 employee organizations, which it is. But you're gonna understand scorecard at a whole nother level when you have one. When you struggle with it, you're going to uh understand rocks when you ultimately don't get your rock done because you didn't stay focused on it. Um, and so yeah, I still do. Now it looks a little different. My assistant is now an integrator, she runs my company. Um, and so we definitely have meetings. I was talking to her right before I got on this call. Um, and so I would say it's it's uh it was very um uh much more it's funny because I still do it. It just the the I would say um our level 10s aren't quite as long.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Um and yeah, God, the only thing that really's changed, I would say, is the amount of time that we probably take for us to do the work. Um, and so I still take on rocks um uh for my practice, and I practice doing fine, but I still take on like I gotta get a focus day this time. And um, and uh for years I hadn't need new clients, I was just fully booked, and then I started needing them, and I was like, okay, I gotta get focus days. And Jessica's like, that should be a rock. I'm like, that should be rock. Yeah, it seemed weird, like I hadn't had that rock in a while, right? I'm like, okay, well, of course I need to focus days. Yeah. Um, so I'm still doing those things, I'm still doing mastery, I'm still digging in. And um, it's actually one of the reasons, you know, we talked about Nexus a little bit up front. It's actually one of the reasons I dug in with Nexus, is at the end of the day, it makes me great because I am literally saying, like, okay, this is what you do in a session, and it makes me double down on all of that stuff that really makes us great in a session, or this is what I did for business development. And so then I can be like, okay, like I gotta, you know, take my old advice, you know, I gotta be doing that. And so it's just those things that I really feel like I always want to make sure that people would never like it. That's good for you, not for me. I'm I'm not that guy. Um, I when when I ran my bar and restaurant, I even like I'd mopped the floors and I was cleaning up one of the tables, and one of the uh customers said to me, Oh, hey, we we heard there's a new owner. And they went on for like a couple minutes about like there's a new owner, heard he's a young guy, and like, yeah, you know, so can you introduce us? And I was like, Okay, this is really awkward because like they went on for like a minute or two about this guy, right? You know, and I was like, um yeah, uh I didn't know what to say to me. I'm like, I'm that guy. Um, you know, and they were like, oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. I'm like, I didn't know how to say it, but you know, I feel bad. And they're like, why are you cleaning up the tables? And I'm like, just because I own the bar doesn't mean there's not work to be done. And so that um that's always been me. I want to get dirty doing the work. And um, and so I think you're right. I think the best implementers at the end of the day, EOS implementers, I think the best coaches ultimately take their own advice. Uh the best therapists have therapists. I have a coach. Um, you know, and so if you want to be an ambitious coach, get an ambitious coach. Right. If if you want to be great at EOS, do EOS. Um, and so I think there's just so many of these things that are kind of dumb moments. Um, but so many people don't do them, to your point.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Yeah, I'm telling you. And I I have I've during my time at 90, and then even as I've transitioned out of still working with a lot of coaches, and I'm telling you, the best of the best are the ones that have they have a coach, they run on a system, EOS, and they also are surrounded by trusted partners. And so, I mean, you're living proof of that. And you've, I mean, without even us talking about that, you've mentioned those things. And so, to me, if you're listening to this and you are a coach, I mean, do these things, run your practice, practice what you preach, find someone who's gonna help you think about things. And I love the tie to Nexus of being all it's almost like a, I think, so I was an athlete my entire career, right? Played in college, played soccer, and then I was able to coach afterwards at a high school up in outside of Nashville, Tennessee. And I cannot tell you how many things were instilled in my brain by coaching that I'm like, oh, that's what they were referring to. And it's like as the player just didn't connect. But once you start coaching, you think about it differently. It's like you get a layer above, and now you're able to see it. So, can you kind of talk a little bit about just the Nexus model? I'd love to like dive a little bit more and like what the process looks like for those that you work with.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Yeah, and so it's built for implementers, um, and in many regards for coaches. That that is our our probably our next uh iteration is that a lot of the stuff we built, we realized it's really for coaches as a whole. Um, but right now it's the the model is built for implementers and it's to help them to build, implement, and manage their practice better. Build from the standpoint of helping them to build the practice of their dreams, exactly what they want and how they want, uh, back to doing business development your way. Implement really not being a transactional, stop doing sessions, but start transforming lives. And so if I can help implementers to transform lives, like, ugh, I am just in my place. And then last is manage, manage all the moving parts, because many a times implementers um and coaches as a whole were just not managing the moving parts as well. Um and um, and so it's really about building, implementing, and managing a practice. And so at the end of the day, that is ultimately what the platform is built to do. A lot of Uh, tools and videos. Uh, so it's an online learning database. Um, and so that's the Nexus accelerator. We also have two other products. We have cohorts, uh, which are implementers that uh do quarterlies and annuals, and I'm their implementer. And so they come together and they learn from each other, and then they see implementer doing the work. Um, and then I also have a new product called Next Us instead of Next Us. Nice it's Next Us. Plan works. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Um Sarah Stern actually came up with that. Um, yeah, she's awesome. Um, but her um but the intent is to help expert implementers to determine um what's next. Um and so um the idea, not that they're gonna stop doing US, but a lot of them are starting to think about like, okay, I've gotten to the top of the US mountain, and this is a beautiful view, but what's next for me? Is there something more um and many people just want to double down on, you know, more sessions. Um, but uh, but there's others saying, you know, I see if there's other beauty I'm supposed to bring to the world as well. Um, and um, and so uh, so that's been fun. Um, those are really the three main things. The accelerator being the kind of the base of it. Um, and um it's been great. We've had uh what I see the other day, about 150 in the tool at one point or another. And um, so yeah, yeah, I excited to get the word out there to more and more implementers um about what we're doing. How cool.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

That's yeah, that ties so well into, you know, we talk a lot about mastery on here. I mean, it's something that you have to maintain a competitive age and a competitive advantage. Because what's fascinating is you're actually touching. I love that you have that next us thing because I think I see that. And if you are like a lot of the experts that are out there right now, they are, I mean, true entrepreneurs through and through. And I mean, they can't help but scale. And what's the next thing? And so I think that is something that a lot of them are facing. You see a lot of these like offshoots and things that are kind of like going because I think they're entrepreneurs, they can't help it. Like that's just in their DNA. And so that's that's really cool. When you so you're working with a lot of you know, experienced to like not experienced coaches. I mean, what would you say from your work with Nexus? Like, what separates the the great or call it ambitious coaches from the you know mediocre ones? Let's call it, we won't call them bad.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

But yeah, it's funny. I I the word I said literally, um I was presenting to an MCE last week. And so um an MCE brought me in to present on a topic of like a be part of their learning part. And um I said, you know, there's really good implementers, and then there's truly great implementers. And um, and I think that most implementers are actually really good at what they do. We give them the tools to do that. Not everybody, I'm sure, that you know, there's always a bad something. Sure. But most of us are pretty damn good at it. And then you get to an expert, and there's really, really good ones, and but there's a handful that are just great that like completely shine over everybody else. And one of the things we talked about, they do EOS. So let's just say they do OS and they're doing the work. Um, and so the other thing they do is they don't stop getting great at this work. When it becomes we I created a um a uh workshop, I guess, for implementers um as a part of the coaching team called the 300 sessions form. And we found around the three, 400 sessions, people would get to a place where, okay, they could show up for a session and they'd be fine. And literally just walk in the door with the client, sit down, and they could run a session. And the session would be pretty darn good uh because they were that good. But what I found is the really great implementers were doing something completely different. And um, and so, and I I um uh was doing some of these things as well. And it was, I spent a half hour to an hour the night before really digging in on the client, getting into that headspace. I then would the day of, I would get there an hour before, I'd get everything up on the board, make sure the room was all set up for them, really making sure that everything looks first class. And that didn't take long because I have a team that does a lot of that for me. And then once again, I would dive into their stuff, like think about like what's gonna come up, what are some of the things that what's their Colbies so I could facilitate their Colby, not my Colby. And then really dig in and just answer this question um that um I needed to become the implementer that they deserved. So the question is, is that then who is the implementer that they deserve today? What do I, how do I need to show up? Um, and then got quiet and really just kind of thought about like what that was. And so what I did was I got to a place, about 300 sessions, and then it became transactional for me. And I realized, okay, this wasn't working. I was pissing people off, and I I just I screwed things, things up and I was like, all right, I'm missing it. And it started to get bored. And I think one of the most dangerous things on the planet is a board entrepreneur. Um, it's like a rat in the corner. Um, the a board entrepreneur can be do some amazing things or they can be dangerous. And I was unfortunately the dangerous one who was becoming more transactional, and so I dug in and like really went deep on the mastery. And that's when I ended up creating these videos. A lot of it worked for me. And I used to have a firm before the franchise model came in where I had some local people and I had the old school firm where people worked kind of like under me kind of thing, and that's that's not the the new model for Nexus. Um, it's just a you know monthly subscription kind of thing. But what um what I learned was that when I got really good at this and really got into the room and understood them as the creatures that I got to really work with, man, I could feel what was going on. Um, yesterday we went around the room and I said, Um, and this was just implementers, and I said, uh, and you have something else to say. And he's like, I do have something else to say. And I can just feel it in the room now. And so I think all implementers can get to that place and all coaches can get to that place. We got to get quiet. I think life is like a good stretch. If you don't relax into it, you don't get much out of it. Um, and so um, and we gotta relax into it. I think you've got to be ultra prepared, as you can hear, but then I just get into the session and I am there for them and feeling what's happening, um, making sure I'm not the point uh that they are. Um, and so there's a lot there. If I would break it down, if you just wanted bullet points, I'm a bullet point guy, I'd say they dig in on the why of what we do. They really understand the why, not just the what. They really are always pushing into mastery, always trying to make better, be better in their craft as teachers, facilitators, and coaches. Um, and at the end of the day, um, they're doing the work. They're doing the hard, they're making the phone calls, they're going to QCEs, they're they're doing the stuff that actually gets them to where they are. And so if they do those things, I think they become masterful.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Yeah, it's a good word. Uh, the there is a lot of like personal self-work too, of of the emotional intelligence of walking. I mean, it it's a skill that I think, I mean, yes, there are certain people that just have it, but it's a skill that can be learned because that is something that I've been insanely privileged to work with a lot of really great coaches who have that. And it's like they can go into a room and just understand, okay, hey, you didn't directly mention this to this person, but clearly this person feels slighted by that. And we're gonna acknowledge that. We're gonna bring that because we aren't gonna be able to move forward have if there's tension in the room and being able to pick up on that. And I think there's a lot of it's a it's a holistic mastery, right? From uh an emotional, from a physical, from a spiritual, you could say. From I mean, there's all sorts of ways that I think the best coaches are the ones that have mastered that and they understand that. So that's that's really interesting to hear you kind of verbalize all of that because that like clicks in my brain of like, oh yes, that's I now I see Cullen did that, or you know, so and so did this. But like, uh, so that's what would you say? Um, so let's let's take a newer implementer, right? Maybe they they're a year in or six months in or so. Let's say they're spending lots of time, money, and energy on things that maybe you would say aren't necessarily gonna move the needle. What are some of those things that you see newer implementers or newer coaches lean into thinking that it's gonna move the needle, but in your experience it's just not?

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Yeah, and so uh I'm gonna quote CJ DeBay, um, and I think she stole from somebody else too, but she said it to me, so I'll give her credit. Um, she said, Jim, you got to do closest to the dollar work. Um, and I'm like, okay. And you know, I was pretty sure I understood, but I said, okay, go a little deeper there. And she goes, okay, so the closest to the dollar is do a session, you get paid, right? So that's the closest. But if you don't have a session, then the next best thing is doing a 90-minute meeting because that then gets you a session, right? So then doing a 90. Well, if you're not doing 90s um because you can't have them all the time, then you're doing VTHs. If you're not doing a VTH, then what gets you VTHs? She's like, that's where you should be spending your time. And she said, so many people get lost in doing the other stuff. Like, oh, if I research LinkedIn and I really dig in deep on LinkedIn, then I'm gonna understand my marketplace better. And like, no, the way you're gonna understand your marketplace better is get knee to knee with somebody at a coffee shop and actually have a conversation. And that's how you're gonna understand your marketplace. And so a lot of people can get caught behind these things, you know, that we're talking into right now. Um totally. And that's not how business works. Business works face to face. And I think that they gotta get out there and um, and I'm not saying you don't text and call and do all that stuff either. So when I say knee to knee, I mean like, what is it that you're doing that's creating the next relationship that's gonna help you to be great? And so we gotta get out there and be making those business friends, you know? And it's funny because it comes back to that in some regards, but I think it's relational. And if you aren't, if your text message isn't helping to build that relationship or move something forward, what are you doing? Um I always say every business meeting ends with some next step where it's not a good business meeting. What's the next step? Um right after this, this is a business meeting, and the next step is well, then you have to ultimately publish this and get it out there and let people know on LinkedIn that we hung out and we had a conversation. Um, and so there's always a next step or value isn't created from what you did. Now, I I go out and have drinks with my buddies. I don't have to have a next step with that, but that's not a business meeting. Right. It's just uh, you know, I got filled up, my soul got filled up by hanging out with my buddies. Um, but I think we need to do that. And so um at the end of the day, I think that you just got to do closest to the dollar work. And so whenever I thought about that, I would think about my calendar and I'd say, is my calendar closest to the and is my calendar full and doing closest to the dollar work. And so sessions, 90s, VTHs, all of that, of course, but then it really for me was those connector meetings and being out there and having those relationships. And for others, it might be doing talks, really all US simple matters, and I'll be honest, I think most coaches as a whole, so it um really get it by connectors, they get it doing by talks in some form, um, or they get it from their clients. And so there's a three main ways that everybody I think builds a coaching practice. Yeah, and um we make it we overcomplicate it, but at the end of the day, it's those three damn things. Yeah, and so what are you doing around those three things? And so what shouldn't they do is get caught up doing any of the other stuff during the week. So I didn't even prepare for my sessions during business hours because business hours were for business meetings, and preparing for a session is not closest to the dollar work. Closest to the dollar work is ultimately doing a session, but it's not ultimately uh preparing. And so I wouldn't do my books, I wouldn't do um any of my prep for my sessions. I do none of that during the week. Um, it was always after hours and before hours. And I had young kids. I mean, I have a 10 and 12 year old, but my practice started 15 years ago, and so I had babies running around, and um, so I just would get up really early, which is crazy because getting up before a baby sometimes is impossible.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

That is early.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Yeah, that is early, you know. Yeah, you have young kids. Um, and so I get up really stinking early. It's so I could then be prepared um or uh do what I needed to do to get there. Um, and so those are the things I think that I think coaches miss business hours for business meetings and stay closest to the dollar. And I think that you can just do the best work.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

That's it's a proactive approach. I mean, and and it's it I I feel that tension because if I don't manage my schedule, it tends to like I get real reactive. And that's actually one of the things that I started, I read through Shine, uh, you know, by Gino. And the kind of one of the things that I put into play is all right, the night before, I'm figuring out what are the three most important things that I've got to do the next day. And then building my day because I get that. Like you can get into where you're just doing busy work and it's not leading to anything that's helpful for the entity or entities that you're working with, no matter what position you are, that's practical. Um, but as a coach specifically, you could easily fill your in. And I think in this world that we live in, where I mean, you can't spend any time on LinkedIn without getting some kind of message per day about, hey, utilize this, you know, tool that will like make it easier, hand deliver you 30,000 leads. You're like, how is that even possible? Like, and so it's it's so many shiny objects that I think when you get it back to the root, it is coaching. A coaching practice is a deeply human thing. It is a life on life, one-on-one. That is where it is built. And so that's a great word to kind of go in. And what is gonna lead to that? That's gonna get you to the next thing, which is gonna get you to the ultimately the session, right? I mean, that's ultimately you have to work towards. So, I mean, let's talk like looking back over your journey. What is maybe some of the the lessons that took maybe the longest to learn over the course of your 15, 15 years in doing kind of the EOS stuff? You can even stretch further back then if you want to.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

Yeah, I started my practice in 2004, so we're 22 years in. Um and um so yeah, one of the things um that was a hard lesson that I it was a lot harder than I thought. Um, and I think that people just don't do the work. And so when I started doing the work, I ended up doing much better. And so I would do a breakfast meeting, a coaching meeting, a uh a lunch meeting, a coffee meeting, and then a beer because I had too much coffee all through the day that I needed to actually then I had to have a more coffee. Yeah, no, exactly. And so I do five meetings a day where I was knee to knee with somebody, and I would try to do that uh three times a week. Um, and I would say I on average I was probably around 12 to 14. Um, and so I didn't always get in 15, but 12 to 14 per week. Um, and those weeks were so intense. It was it'd be easier to be in a session for sure. But uh my practice wasn't growing, and I was like, all right, I gotta do the work. Um, and so that was a hard lesson for me. Um the other one is like they hired me. And so I would I I used to watch all the Gino's videos before it was Peyton, and now they're all Peyton videos. And so I I was mimic um and and and come off as uh as you know, Gino or or Peyton. And what I learned is that my clients picked me for a reason, right? They had the other opportunities. There's a plenty of implanters, there's 20 of us in West Michigan alone. So they could pick anybody else, but they picked me, so they want me. And so I the other lesson that was hard for me is I forgot to bring me sometimes. Um, and I just needed to remember like, you know what? Like, just be me in connector meetings, or if I got to do a follow-up phone call that can be awkward or uncomfortable, like, you know, I haven't heard from you, kind of thing, you know. Um, just be me. And so that was the other lesson I think that um I'm probably still learning, Cam, if I was honest. So those are the two big ones.

SPEAKER_00 38:54

Yeah, those are good. Um, I I appreciate you sharing and being even vulnerable in that. Um, so let's talk a little bit about kind of like process for for Nexus. I mean, as somebody that's in one of the programs, I mean, what what does it look like uh for for somebody to get involved or is curious about it? I mean, like, talk a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_02 39:16

Super simple. Um, it's so just email. We I have uh practice manager. So uh Jessica is the integrator for that company as well. But then we have a woman who really runs a company called Amber. Um and so you email me or Amber, and then um we get you connected to a link. You check it out. We always tell people, you know, go in, check it out. People were like, well, can I download tools? I'm like, yeah, actually, I told somebody the other day, I was like, download the tools and then um and then get out. Like, these are the tools you need, because I was telling them you need the tools, and I said, and then get out. If you don't get value, then get out. And hopefully you see value, but if not, no big deal. He's like, So you're giving me the tools that you're charging for. I'm like, yeah, but if you don't see value, that's on me, not on you. And so um, so yeah, 14 days, just a you know, like a normal thing. Go in, get all the value you can out of it and see if there's something that, okay, hey, I'd like to stick around. There's a couple hundred hours with video, so it will take you more than two weeks um um to um to get through everything, I'm sure. Yeah, yeah. Um the if you get through everything in two weeks, then awesome. And you've memorized it all. And so that's the big way I always tell people start with the accelerator most of the time. If they're interested in a T group that really goes to the next level, um, because that's really what the cohorts are, um, you know, great, but get in the accelerator first because low risk, you know, it doesn't cost you anything really in the beginning. And then it, you know, it's only 175 bucks a month, and then it's low risk, and then you get to see, okay, is this some person? Do I want to actually have Jim as an implementer? I'm not built for everybody. I'd love to think I am, but you know, you you might not like my silly humor or my sure off-handed comments or you know, my my four-letter words, who knows? Um, and so there might be something that um doesn't come across to you or fit for you. So do it this way first. And then um, and then those other programs, if there's things there that feel like, you know what, I I want to go deeper, um, I always tell people just email me. You know, I think that I talked to a guy today and he goes, God, I didn't think I would actually talk to you. But I was like, why? Like, no, no, a big deal. He's like, he's like, well, no, I just know you're really busy, and I'm like, I am, but you know, I'm I love talking to implementers. This is why I do this work. Yeah. Okay, great. Well, and so we ended up chatting. And so I at the end of the day, I just love chatting with implementers and helping them out. So if there's ways that I can do that um and be a resource, even if it's not Nexus, I'm always willing to do that. So just reach out.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Yeah, that's good. And we'll we'll link out to all that, we'll make sure it's it's really clear. But I think it is something that, you know, we all need mentors in our life that are a little bit further along. I think I have this strong, testable hypothesis, whatever you want to call it, that we should all have somebody that's a little bit further along than us that we're learning from, and then someone that is maybe a little bit further behind than us that we're pouring into. It's like two tables, you know, one that I'm pouring myself out into of people that can learn from me, and then one that I'm sitting at that people are pouring into me, you know, and so I think that's really a lot of what you're you're providing that. And I would assume, like in the cohort specifically, the community that people get of just being in a room with other people who have the exact same struggles and are working through the same thing is just so valuable because we're not meant, I think humans just in general are not meant to go at things by themselves, but especially business coaches. I mean, such a lonely profession, and I don't understand why anyone would ever want to do it by themselves.

SPEAKER_02 42:33

Yeah. It's funny you say that because that's where Nexus probably its impetus was I wanted to be in business for myself, but not by myself. All the other businesses, I ran a barn restaurant. I mean, we had a I had, you know, at some point 35, 45 uh employees running around to run this restaurant. And so that's what I was used to is people. And then I got into this work and I loved it, but it was lonely. Um, and so you know, you hit it on the edcam that at the end of the day, you know, if you're looking for a group, and the accelerator even gives you that, right? You know, because they they connect. We have WhatsApp groups and we got all this, you know, social media type stuff where they can connect and the feel of art of something different. And so with 900 people, you can get lost in 900 people. But you know, at Nexus, we make sure you don't get lost. Um, and so we make sure that you feel like, oh, right, I've got I've got some people who got my back. And so, yeah, which I think is so important, especially as a coach, it's just it's lonely.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

Yeah. I want to ask one more question, kind of on mastery, because I'm just curious your answer on this. But let's say there's uh, let's take the example of the that newer business coach. Let's say they want to become the best possible coach over the next decade. What would you tell them to focus in on over the next couple years to get to that in 10 years?

SPEAKER_02 43:51

So always make sure that you have time for mastery. Make sure you're doing something that's always going to be making you more masterful of what you do. And make sure you have enough work too. I mean, because I think a lot of times we learn from doing the work. And I think that a lot of times you got to have enough work to do it. Um and so if you want to be a world-class coach, you gotta actually have world-class clients to do that. And so you also should have some great clients that are pushing you. You gotta be working on mastery outside of that, but then you also have to be introspective enough to learn from what you're doing. And I always say your coaching or session or whatever it happens to be, but I um your your next best coaching session actually started at the last one. And so I'm making sure that I get everything I need out of this one and then learn from this one so that then the next one's better. And so I'm taking notes and debriefs and I have all this information so that then I go into my client and they ultimately know that I've done all the work. I've I've I've spent hours preparing for this meeting and so that they can have the best meeting. I know all their terms, I know their um, I know what their uh acronyms mean. Um, I remember what their kids' names. And so at the end of the day, when that people feel cared for, ultimately, you then can ultimately say the tough things. So the more you love somebody, Cam, I think the more difficult messages you can you can give to them. Now I don't do domestic, so don't you know go tell your wife something because you love her so much, but it does work in business. I'll say that. Um in business, when they know that you really care, you know, then then they're really going to be able to listen and hear the hard truths that you're gonna bring them. And so love on them, make sure they feel that love, and then make sure you're masterful at this work. And um, that ultimately can make you a world-class coach.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Yeah, man, that's a great word. Wow, what what an awesome um kind of way to wrap it up. Um, I appreciate you sharing that spot on. So thank you, number one, for for coming on and sharing all these things. It's been this has been an awesome conversation. I've learned so much. Uh I always like to ask guests two questions kind of on the tail end, just reflective and and one that's more current. Uh, so the first one, let's say you're going back looking at rookie Jim, who's just getting out and in coaching, right? But you have all the knowledge and experience and lessons learned that you have now in this moment. What advice would you give yourself?

SPEAKER_02 46:27

Yeah, it's probably similar to what I uh we talked about a little before. So not to be repetitive, but it um really what comes to mind is be Jim, you know, just be you, right? They they got in somehow they got in front of you. And it was probably because somebody who cared enough about you connected you. So there's some connection there. So just bring yourself, bring your beauty, show them that you really care for them, um, and then relax a bit. I I think I just was too, you know, like too worried about everything working out. And I think that I pushed myself hard because of that, but I think I could have still pushed myself hard and just enjoyed the ride a little more. Um, and so that would have been my um uh my advice. Enjoy the ride, do the hard work, but enjoy it and um and show them you love them. And um I uh I think I would have uh had an easier go. I don't think my first 1390s uh would have been uh I wouldn't have been blanked with for my first 1390s if I took that approach.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

Hey, you gotta break yeah, you had to break some records. So yeah, exactly. No, that's that's really good. I I appreciate you sharing. I think it's it's something that I you can get into where you're grinding and and it's like you're just running and running and running, and you sometimes forget the the real impact that you're having on people's lives. And I think being able to reflect that and enjoy that process is is an important kind of mental shift uh to make sure we're kind of going back to. So I appreciate you sharing that. The second question is what's a lesson that you're in the middle of learning right now? I mean, you've you've said alluded to it quite a few times. Mastery never ends. So what's what's something you're learning right now?

SPEAKER_02 48:10

Yeah, that's a it's it's funny. There's a there's a couple of things. Um one that I've been doing, so let me give you two. Um uh one that I've been doing that I keep learning from, and it's been so good for me, is that I every year, Cam, I do something that scares the hell out of me. Like truly scares me. Um, and like where I'm like, okay, I don't think I can do this kind of thing. And um I've tried to do that every year. Um, and I just keep growing because of it. When I put myself into harm's way, and that's the way I call it, I'm not talking about jumping in front of cars. I'm just talking about putting yourself into things that ultimately really scare you, but push you towards something um and in some way. Um, you know, and this year I did it uh not not from a business perspective, I did it this time from a personal perspective, but a relationship I want to push more into and just keep bringing more of my beauty to my wife. Um, and so uh we did our vowel renewal and I uh took guitar and voice uh vocal lessons and I sang my wife a song. And I have never sang in front of a group of people ever in my life. And um I uh um I don't think I'm gonna be getting any gigs soon. Um but keep your day job. Yeah, keep the day job. You know, luckily I'm enjoying my day job. Um but um it was it was cool, and so that was the thing I did this year. Um, I don't know next year. Somebody asked me what I was gonna do next year. I'm like, I don't know yet. I gotta figure it out. You guys are. Um I got time. Um so that's one thing. Like I I I tell you that because I keep learning all this stuff. Like I can do these things, I can do the hard things. Um, and one of those things, it's good that I'm learning that because one of the things that I'm struggling with right now is that um there's a book called Strength the Strength by Arthur Brooks. Um, and really bright guy. He's a social um scientist, I think is what he's called. And um, but it talks about the next phase. And so I'm 53, and so I'm realizing that I don't have um things are starting to change for me. Uh and this happens, and he says late 40s to early 50s. This is when it happens for almost every uh human on the planet, and men struggle with this more than females. Um, and he goes through all the reasons why, but um, we just generally struggle through things more than females, I think sometimes. Um, and I don't that's not saying women have it easy. Please talk everybody. You definitely can uh X that out if that's the way it came off. My point is that I feel like we sometimes just aren't as connected emotionally to what's going on in our lives as well as women. And he points to that, and then um, so I'm reading his book because I'm going through this phase and he calls it. So I geek out about this stuff. My six fact fighter geeks out, but there's fluid intelligence, and our fluid intelligence is decreasing uh in your late 40s, and crystallized intelligence is actually increasing, and so there's this second curve. But if you don't get on this other curve, he proves that you're miserable. You'll go, you'll literally die a miserable person, um, just bitter and miserable. And it's like, oh my God, like I want to, okay, I don't want to be there guys out. You know, like there's something to figure out. And so I'm realizing I'm at this place. Um, and it's an interesting time. I just came off the coaching team, and last year I put 650 hours into the coaching team and while having a full practice and running Nexus. And so um, I keep busy, I don't have any problems uh staying off the streets. Um, but um I um but what am I gonna do with that extra time? I get plenty of time off with my family, and so you know, it's not but they're they're treated uh well in that regard. My wife even talked and I talked about it. Um, but it's like okay, there's something else that um, you know, maybe I'm gonna do some more sessions, but it feels like there's something else. And I the next us stuff is a little bit of that, like trying to figure out what is the next, and so it's a little of me figuring that out, but it's been a um I'm enjoying figuring it out, I guess. But it's definitely a weird place for me. I'm not I'm not comfortable in this still. So I gotta figure that out a little better.

SPEAKER_00 52:07

So oh man, thank you for for taking us on that. It's that's a that's really timely, and I would imagine there's there's plenty of other listeners that that resonate with that. I mean, I'm I'm in my 30s, so I'm I'm still working for that. But that that is something that I mean, I'm still thinking about things like that. So I appreciate you sharing that. So yeah, Jim, man, this has been awesome. Thank you for for taking the time to chat. I mean, if someone wants to get in touch with you, what is the best place to to kind of reach out to you?

SPEAKER_02 52:35

Yeah, it just email me. Um I always tell people, you know, people are like, you know, is it on LinkedIn or whatever? I'm like, no, you can email me if you want. Um just jcoil at usworldwide.com um is probably the best way. And then yeah, if you want to learn more about Nexus, that's probably it too, because then yeah, Amber and Jessica could jump in on that as well. So I love it.

SPEAKER_00 52:53

That's awesome. Well, this is this has been great. I I've learned a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to to chat. And I'm looking forward to staying in touch. We'll put we'll link out some of those things in the show notes. So if people want to get in touch with you directly or learn more about Nexus, we'll have all that in there. And uh I'm excited. So I appreciate you you coming on, taking the time, man. Thank you for listening. We got lots more more episodes coming your way and uh all about business coaches and growing to practice. Take care. That's it for today's episode of the ambitious coaching. My hope is that something here helps you sharpen your craft and keep building a coaching practice your problem. Before we wrap, a quick thank you to our sponsor, 90. If your coaching leadership teams, having the clients run their entire world in 90 truly elevate your world. The clarity needs to find a line between sections and makes every conversation we have with them more focused and more impactful. I've used Nighty with over 500 leadership teams, and I can tell you it makes great companies better and great coaches even more effective. Feel free to use the promo code 8020 for 20% off. Again, that's 8020 for 20% off. Thanks for hanging out with me today on Kenya. We'll see you next time.